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SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
Dr. Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud, CJI., J.B. Pardiwala, Manoj Misra, JJ.
Anjum Kadari & Anr. – Appellants
Versus
Union of India & Ors. – Respondents
Special Leave Petition (C) No.8541 of 2024 With Special Leave Petition (C) No.7857 of 2024 With Special Leave Petition (C) No.7821 of 2024 With Special Leave Petition (C) No.7878 of 2024 With Special Leave Petition (C) No.7890 of 2024 With Special Leave Petition (C) No.13038 of 2024 With Contempt Petition (C) No.591 of 2024 In SLP (C) No.7878 of 2024 And with Transfer Petition (C) No.2697 of 2024 And with Transfer Petition (C) No.2697 of 2024
Decided on : 05-11-2024
(A) Uttar Pradesh Board of Madarsa Education Act, 2004 – Section 9 – Constitution of India – Articles 14 and 21A – Constitutionality of Madarsa Education Act, 2004 on touchstone of Articles 14 and 21A of Constitution of India – Purpose behind Madarsa Act was to remove difficulties in running Madarsas, improve their merit and provide adequate facilities to students studying in these institutions – Purpose was not limited to only regulating Fazil and Kamil, and legislature would have still enacted the statute if it were aware that portions pertaining to higher education were invalid – Madarsa Act is consistent with positive obligation of State to ensure that students studying in recognised Madarsas attain a level of competency which will allow them to effectively participate in society and earn a living – Article 21-A and RTE Act have to be read consistently with right of religious and linguistic minorities to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice – Board with approval of State government can enact regulations to ensure that religious minority institutions impart secular education of a requisite standard without destroying their minority character – Madarsa Act is within legislative competence of State legislature and traceable to Entry 25 of List III – However, provisions of Madarsa Act which seek to regulate higher-education degrees, such as Fazil and Kamil are unconstitutional as they are in conflict with UGC Act, which has been enacted under Entry 66 of List I – There is distinction between “religious instruction” and “religious education” – Madarsa Act does not directly interfere with day-to-day administration of recognized Madarsas – While Madarsas do impart religious instruction, their primary aim is education – Mere fact that education which is sought to be regulated includes some religious teachings or instruction, does not automatically push the legislation outside legislative competence of State. (Paras 69, 85, 103 and 104)
(B) Constitution of India – Article 30 – Special rights of religious and linguistic minorities – Fundamental rights consist of both negative and positive postulates – They require State to restrain its exercise of power and create conducive conditions for exercise of rights – Positive secularism allows State to treat some persons differently to treat all persons equally – In order to treat some persons equally, we must treat them differently – Concept of positive secularism finds consonance in principle of substantive equality. (Para 70)
(C) Constitutional Law – Statute can be struck down only for violation of Part III or any other provision of Constitution or for being without legislative competence – Constitutional validity of a statute cannot be challenged for violation of basic structure of Constitution – Concepts such as democracy, federalism, and secularism are undefined concepts – Allowing courts to strike down legislation for violation of such concepts will introduce element of uncertainty in our constitutional adjudication – Challenge to constitutional validity of a statute for violation of basic structure is a technical aspect because infraction has to be traced to the express provisions of Constitution – In a challenge to validity of a statute for violation of principle of secularism, it must be shown that statute violates provisions of Constitution pertaining to secularism. (Paras )
Facts of the case:
High Court of Judicature at Allahabad has held Uttar Pradesh Board of Madarsa Education Act, 2004 to be unconstitutional on the ground that it violates principle of secularism and Articles 14 and 21A of Constitution. Madarsa Act established Uttar Pradesh Board of Madarsa Education, to regulate, among other things, standards of education, qualifications for teachers, and conduct of examinations in Madarsas in State of Uttar Pradesh. Entirety of Act has been struck down by High Court.
Findings of Court:
On an examination of Madarsa Act, it is clear that prescribing instructional material, conducting exams and conferring degrees for Fazil and Kamil were only a part of functions of Board. Severance of these functions from Board does not impact its entire character. Thus, only provisions which pertain to Fazil and Kamil are unconstitutional, and Madarsa Act otherwise remains valid.
Result : Petitions disposed of.
JUDGMENT
Dr Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud, CJI
| Table of Contents |
| A. Introduction |
| B. Background |
| a. History of Madarsas |
| b. Teaching in Madarsas |
| c. Madarsa Act |
| d. Steps taken by the State Government and the Board pursuant to the Madarsa Act |
| e. Proceedings before the High Court and Impugned Judgment |
| f. Steps taken by the State Government and the proceedings before this Court |
| C. Submissions |
| D. Secularism and regulation of minority educational institutions |
| a. Secularism in the constitutional context |
| b. Testing the validity of a statute for violation of the basic structure of the Constitution |
| c. Regulation of minority educational institutions |
| d. The Madarsa Act is a regulatory legislation |
| e. Interplay of Article 21-A and Article 30 |
| E. Legislative Competence |
| a. The Madarsa Act is within the legislative competence of the State under Entry 25, List III |
| b. Certain provisions of the Madarsa Act conflict with the UGC Act enacted under Entry 66, List I |
| c. The entire Madarsa Act need not be struck down on the above ground |
| F. Conclusion |
A. Introduction
1. The High Court of Judicature at Allahabad1[“High Court”] has held the Uttar Pradesh Board of Madarsa Education Act, 20042[“Madarsa Act”] to be unconstitutional on the ground that it violates the principle of secularism and Articles 14 and 21A of the Constitution. The Madarsa Act established the Uttar Pradesh Board of Madarsa Education, 3[“Board”] to regulate, among other things, the standards of education, qualifications for teachers, and conduct of examinations in Madarsas in the State of Uttar Pradesh. The entirety of the Act has been struck down by the High Court.
B. Background
a. History of Madarsas
2. The term ‘madarsa’ refers to any school or college where any sort of education is imparted. 4[Yoginder Sikand, Bastions of the Believers: Madrasas and Islamic Education in India (Penguin Books, 2005)] The history of the establishment of Madarsas in the Indian subcontinent may be traced to the rule of the Tughlaqs. 5[ibid] The pre-colonial Madarsas were of two types: (i) the Maktabs which were attached to mosques and imparted elementary education; and (ii) the Madarsas which were centres of higher learning and contributed to the administrative, religious, and cultural needs of the prevalent society. 6[Arshad Alam, ‘Understanding Madrasas’ (2003) 38(22) Economic and Political Weekly 2123] During colonial rule, the relative importance of Madarsas diminished with the introduction of English as the language of the colonial administration7[Padmaja Nair, The State and madrasas in India (Working Paper 15, University of Birmingham 2009) 11].
3. The colonial government formulated the Education Code of 1908 to recognize Madarsas in Uttar Pradesh for conducting Arabi-Pharsi examinations. The Arabic institutions preparing candidates for Maulvi, Alim, and Fazil examinations and the Persian institutions preparing candidates for Munshi and Kamil examinations were required to make an application to the Registrar of Arabic and Persian Examinations.
4. After Independence, the Department of Education of the UP government issued the Madrasa Education Rules 1969 to bring Madarsas under the domain of the Education Department. Subsequently, the State government framed the UP Non-Government Arabic and Persian Madrasa Recognition Rules 19878[“1987 Rules”] to govern the procedure for recognition and the terms and conditions of service of teachers in the Madarsas. According to the 1987 Rules, recognition to Madarsas was granted by the Recognition Committee and confirmed by the Registrar of Arabic and Persian Exams. The 1987 Rules also prescribed requirements for the quality of buildings and eligibility qualifications for teaching staff as a precondition to the grant of recognition. In 1996, the management of Madarsas was
(1) Uttar Pradesh Board of Madarsa Education Act, 2004 is not un constitutional – However, provisions of Madarsa Act which seek to regulate higher-education degrees, such as Fazil and Kamil are uncon....
The Madarsa Act, 2004 violates the secular principles of the Constitution and the right to quality education, rendering it unconstitutional.
Point of Law : Income from affiliation fees and the examination fees as the term 'fee' itself indicates something that is charged for rendering the service in respect of those two items which is a so....
Point of Law : Law could not be deemed to be unreasonable unless it was totally destructive or annihilative of the right under Art.30(1).
The fixation of government seat quotas in unaided minority institutions is unconstitutional and violates their fundamental right to autonomy under Article 30(1) of the Constitution.
The right of minority educational institutions to administer admissions under Article 30(1) is subject to reasonable regulations by the State to maintain educational standards.
The rights of minorities to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice under Article 30 of the Constitution of India are subject to reasonable regulations that are necessary to....
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